Wine & Dine Wednesday

This past weekend we took a trip to Asheville for the Mr.! This time the kids went along and so did our In-Laws!

After being on the road for  a while, the youngest was a little out of sorts and we had not even reached our destination! When I say "out of sorts" I mean it was like he had drank a Mt. Dew or something! Then it hit me.....Then it hit me...that morning I was measuring out the kids medication, each are on antibiotics for sinus infections and the oldest was due his last Prednisone dose and the youngest gets Zyrtec. Well guess what? Yep, both the Prednisone and Zyrtec are both clear liquids so somehow I got them mixed up and gave the last dose of Prednisone to our youngest instead of to our oldest. So of course it had an obvious effect on him! So of course the ride up was interesting.

Once in Asheville, it was lunch time! The first stop was one of our favorite restaurants for lunch! We have been several times to Asheville and each time we go, we always eat at one particular restaurant, Early Girl Eatery! It is on Wall Street, the same street as one of our favorite little shops where we purchased a favorite wine. We have eaten breakfast and lunch here and it is a must try! The last 2 times we have been I have gotten the Vegan Bean Burger, YUM! The Mr. always gets something different and each time it is delish! This time he got the Cheeseburger and I got a little bite and it was soooo good! I always try to save room for desert but that never happens!

After walking to a local shop to pick up another bottle of our favorite wine we headed to the hotel for a little down time before dinner.

The reason we up and took a spontaneous trip a while back to Asheville and the reason we took this trip was to eat at The Lobster Trap. Last time we got busy with other stuff and just skipped it but this time it was the main reason for the trip. The Mr. wanted to eat at this restaurant. We called ahead for our name to be placed on the waiting list, which is always awesome! Waiting for an hour in a crowded restaurant with 2 hungry kids is never fun! Once we were seated, we placed our order. First off, appetizers...when the waitress comes out and hands you a platter of oysters and says "The Chef wants you to taste these and if they don't taste right, he will cook you some more." that is a sign the dinner is not going to go well...
WHAT?
#1 if the chef has to say that, the plate should NEVER come to the table!
The platter went back and another one was brought to our table. The men said they were good (the women & kids don't eat oysters).
Our main dishes...mediocre at best. Very disappointing. The Mr. had to return his and get a new dish because it obviously wasn't cooked correctly & was cold. My in-laws dishes were not the best either.

It really stinks when you rave about how great a restaurant is and then you take others with you to share and it turns out not so great....

Oh well.

We still had a good time just being together and who wouldn't love a few days in Asheville?!

What is your favorite restaurant in Asheville?

This Happened......

I said  "No."

I said "No." Again.

I said  "No." Again.

I made up every excuse I could think of not to get one.

I tried putting off our boys for as long as I could. Finally, I began thinking about the long term.

Would it matter in 2 weeks if I was up during the night trying to train a puppy to go outside? Would it matter in 2 months? In 6 months? The answer..No.

Would it matter in 2 weeks if I was the one taking total responsibility for this small animal? Cleaning up after him? Feeding him? Bathing him? Or in 2 months? How about 6 months? Again, No.

However, would it matter if our little family had a sweet puppy to love? To snuggle? To play with our little guys? To teach them that caring for something other than yourself can and is a blessing? To help with responsibility? To use gentleness when caring for a puppy so small? For our little guys to have that companionship that only a dog can provide? The answer...YES! Yes, in matters..Now, 2 weeks from now, 2 months from now and 6 months from now.

That is how I gave in. Changing my perspective is why I gave in.

Say Hello to Zeus!

Our sweet Boston Terrier. Who is so smart by the way!,  And of course, he loves lots of snuggles and "talks" to you and will fall asleep in your arms in no time at all! He is very well tempered, loves the boys, they carry him around and he loves it! He loves to play and run from you! Loves to carry sticks, stuffed animals, anything he can get in his mouth and play "Keep Away!" Oh and he snores, like a person, maybe even like an old man. Ok, not sure about the old man part, but he does snore like a person, while we sleep we can hear him and I think it is so cute!  

We were debating on what kind of dog to get, what breed, a mix, boy or girl. After many months researching and looking online at different options, we choose this little guy. It was not an easy choice at first but after taking everything into consideration, like our lifestyle and what we wanted/needed in an dog, it narrowed it down and then we made a choice.

So, this and just life in general is why I have been quiet around here lately. Tired of getting up every night to take him out, I'm sure that I have not had more than a 3 hour span of sleep since we got him a month ago. I am one of those girls that needs her sleep and so this has kinda thrown me for a loop and totally disrupted my routine all around. However, he is cute and yes, this will pass so for the time being I am just dealing with it and knowing he will get bigger and he will be house trained..one day.

We  I am crate training him. Overall, he is doing well. We have had a few accidents but thank goodness they have all been in this crate. So throwing towels in the washer and adding Clorox works for me. But, I do want to get him to decrease those accidents and eventually stop altogether the older he gets. After a trip to the vet last week, the Dr. informed me that I was using the wrong crate. We have the wire crate compared to the plastic carrier he suggested I use. The more enclosed the more efficient the training I suppose. And, to not give him room to walk around in the crate. (another mistake on my part). And, that he should be crate trained in about a week. WOW! I have been doing the wrong things for a month now!

So, off I go to the pet store to purchase a plastic carrier with no room to walk, just stand up and spin around. (the thought just kills me, I would hate to be shut up like that).  I got it and got it home only to realize that the wire crate we have came with a divider! So I am going to try the divider first and hopefully that will prevent him from walking around inside his crate and he will whine and let me know when he needs to go. I pray the divider works so I can return that plastic carrier!

How did you train your pet? Was it easy?

Wine & Dine Wednesday

The fine wine featured today was a gift from my in-laws. They brought it back to me us from a trip they went on to Savannah, GA. Great place I hear, hope to go there one day!

Anyway, if the name of the wine includes the word "Chocolate" I'm in!

This is the best chocolate wine I have EVER tasted! It does say on the label that it is "THE CHOCOLATE LOVER'S WINE"

It is a red wine with a chocolate flavor.  The wine is sweet and it is only recommended that you drink a small amount at a time, per the guy at the wine store and my father-in-law. And they are correct. By small amount, I mean a couple ounces. One evening, I got carried away and had my usual size drink and it was a little much, my legs were all tingly and it was getting hot in here! Now I have that song in my head...."It's getting hot in here so take off all your....".....sorry I forgot the artist. I do that alot, forget names of songs and artist. You should be here when I try to describe to the Mr. what song I want him to download for me... Wow, where was I?

The back of the bottle states that:

 "it is a deep, ruby red wine blended with rich, velvety chocolate. Inviting aromas of black cherry and dark chocolate combine in the glass and continue on the palate surrounded by hints of cocoa powder"

This is one wine you are going want to try!

**As with all my Wine & Dine Wednesday posts, it is my opinion, I was not asked nor was I compensated to write this post.

Instagram Love

It's no secret that Instagram is so fun and just like most....I love it! This is where I post most frequently, it is my favorite social media site.

I haven't been on Instagram very long, but I have been on long enough to know that it is what I enjoy--after all I love taking photos so it is no surprise to me that this is my favorite.

Here are a few photos that I have shared on Instagram:

Check me out on Instagram! Click the button on the right side bar.

Furniture Placement is Key

Do you have one area of your home where you just can't figure out exactly where the furniture should go? You move the furniture around and around and around and it still doesn't look right? No?

Maybe it's just me?

Anyway, our family room is a large room, however it is longer that it is wide and it has been one room that just didn't look right to us.

Furniture has been moved around, the tv cabinet has been moved from one side of the room to the other, we changed the layout and still it just didn't look "just right".

The layout of the family room previously:

**First off, let me start by saying I am not an Interior Designer, nor do I think I am one...this is simply what I have found that worked for us and thought I would share.

There are five ways to enter this large room from other areas of our home...from the breakfast area, dining room, front door, office and the hallway. That is alot of entries in to a room! The photo above is the view from the breakfast area.

We moved the tv (1) to the current wall about a year or so ago. The main reason...our children could see what Mommy & Daddy were watching late night after their bedtime. We thought they were asleep but instead could be peeking in on our tv time. Let's just say there are many programs that little eyes should not see ;) Know what I mean? So I knew that the tv had to remain in this spot.

The fireplace (2) is huge and is a gorgeous focal point in the room.

 

As you can see from this photo we also have lots of light, when we built our home that was a must, we wanted lots of windows!. That is so awesome, I don't ever need light during daylight hours and I love that! The chair to the left (8) was the Mr.'s Grandmothers' and I love the vintage look, I just wish there were two of them.  To balance the fireplace I would love to have another chair to the right but because that is the entry from the breakfast area, there isn't room for a chair.

The painting (3) was the inspiration for the colors of our home when we built. The painting is from Ballard Designs. I love Ballard and could really go crazy if the Mr. would let me! Anyway, the console table under it (which you can't see in the photo) was also the Mr.'s Grandmothers' and we painted it black and I must say it is my favorite table in the whole house!

The loveseat (4) and couch (6) are just that and we have had them for a while now, the set which includes a chair, side table (9) and the coffee table (7) are a pre-children purchase, which explains the glass coffee table. I have been a nervous wreck when it comes to that glass top coffee table since the boys were born!

The red recliner (5) was a purchase after we moved into this home, it was comfy and it went with our color scheme so it came home with us.

As you can see from the photo, the furniture is really spread out. Not a very cozy and intimate area. From where the love seat was you could barely see the tv when the cabinet was open, so the only places to sit and watch tv were either the couch or the red recliner.  Also, there was no direct pass through from the hall, instead you met the side of the loveseat.

In order to remedy all this, I got our our furniture sliders that we purchased at Lowes  a long while back. Holy Cow! If you don't have these, go get some! They are awesome, I can move anything, anytime I want with these babies! (if I can lift it to put the slider underneath it). Let me be real here, sometime you can't always wait till the Mr. gets home, you want to do it now and with these sliders you can do just that!

Ok, then I just started moving furniture around piece by piece till I found the perfect arrangement. I loved it! In order to get that more intimate feeling, I wanted to be closer to the fireplace and I had to move the recliner to another spot in the room.  So now there is a conversation/tv area that is closer to the fireplace and tv.  This left the room with enough space to have a chair off to the side for reading and a more pleasant view from the front door.

The layout of the family room now:

It may be hard to tell from the photo, but the loveseat is brought in closer to the couch and coffee table which helps to add a more intimate, intentional space. 

 

The black table is now behind the loveseat and the yellow chair where the black table used to be. For now, this is a little reading area. Adding the black console table behind the loveseat adds a nice look into the room from the front door. Sammy likes to hang out under the table.

 

 

Another view, see more cozy!



I  have a few wall decor items picked out and now I just need to order them and get them on the wall!

Landscaping Dilemma-Part 2-Final Solution

Finally!

This issue is resolved...I think?! Sure, this is the end to this madness!

If you would like to read Landscaping Dilemma-Part 1, please go here.

Since the last post, we decided to stop calling our original landscaper, I mean, I called and called and there was always an excuse. And to be honest, while I try to give people the benefit of the doubt and
do my best to be patient...it ran out! My patience that is. So I called and got 2 more estimates to complete the work, picked one and after all this rain and the holidays they finally made it over!

OK, so we all love a good before and after photo, so here goes!

Before: (from the front of the driveway)

 

 

Before: (from the rear of the driveway)

After: (from the front of the driveway)

After: (from the side of the driveway)

Sorry, I didn't get a rear view...I took these photos just after it rained and I didn't want to get my tootsies wet :)

It may be hard to tell from the photo, but the dirt underneath extends out from the curb then declines. This is great because now if you step over the curb you won't be worried you will break something!  Another plus, it is a more pleasant view from the road and from the home beside ours.

I think this is for sure an improvement!

Blog Update

In case you are new to my blog, I just wanted to update you on a few items.

I have updated my Projects/DIY tab to include the last few items I completed at the end of 2013.

I have also updated my Recipes tab to include all the recipes ever posted here on the blog.

The tabs above are the best way to access my projects and recipes. Also, the sidebar on the left shows my most popular posts, just click and read more about them.

Also, be sure to follow me on Pinterest & Instagram (on the left sidebar) for all the latest happenings here and in everyday life.

Looking forward to a great week!